Posted by
BrianW on Thursday, September 25, 2008 11:40:33 AM
What the? Does anyoone else watch the one-minute addresses of the house each morning? When are Republicans going to start getting in line and fill their 10 spots and talk about more than honoring some athlete back home? Dem after Dem stands up and declares how this whole financial crisis is the Republicans' fault for their insistence on limiting regulation. Does everyone really forget history the minute it happens?
I need to research more on this and find more facts, but what I do remember is McCain standing on the floor and insisting that Fannie and Freddie be reigned in before a disaster strikes. Then the Dems INSISTED that we allow Fannie and Freddie to do whatever they want because they were allowing opportunity for lower-income families to afford better housing.
Thanks to Louise Hertzog who provided the following after Harry Reid accused Bush of 'Fiscal Dereliction of Duty'...
White House warned congress 17 times about problems with Fannie and Freddie
For
many years the President and his Administration have not only warned of
the systemic consequences of financial turmoil at a housing
government-sponsored enterprise (GSE) but also put forward thoughtful
plans to reduce the risk that either Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac would
encounter such difficulties. President Bush publicly called for GSE
reform 17 times in 2008 alone before Congress acted. Unfortunately,
these warnings went unheeded, as the President's repeated attempts to
reform the supervision of these entities were thwarted by the
legislative maneuvering of those who emphatically denied there were
problems.
2001
April: The Administration's FY02 budget
declares that the size of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is "a potential
problem," because "financial trouble of a large GSE could cause strong
repercussions in financial markets, affecting Federally insured
entities and economic activity."
2002
May: The President
calls for the disclosure and corporate governance principles contained
in his 10-point plan for corporate responsibility to apply to Fannie
Mae and Freddie Mac. (OMB Prompt Letter to OFHEO, 5/29/02)
2003
January: Freddie Mac announces it has to restate financial results for the previous three years.
February:
The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) releases a
report explaining that "although investors perceive an implicit Federal
guarantee of [GSE] obligations," "the government has provided no
explicit legal backing for them." As a consequence, unexpected problems
at a GSE could immediately spread into financial sectors beyond the
housing market. ("Systemic Risk: Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Role
of OFHEO," OFHEO Report, 2/4/03)